S10.E11: Judge Cuts Week 3

[Commando Cody]

Top acts perform. Marlon Wayans serves as a guest judge.

 

 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

The lucky seven:

Triple Threat--They were the act that I was least confident about. Didn't love the song choice, and even though we were given no backstory, I thought the young girl doing martial arts would've been a better choice.

Animation Crew: Solid performance. Really inventive opening, but then it got more predictable as it went on...as Howard rightly pointed out.

Vita: Sexy, strong, flexible. Love the music choice. Still I pine for the archer who could shoot w/ her feet in the early days of the Hoff and Brandy.

Mountain Faith Band: Disclaimer...these guys are my underdogs to ride w/. Bluegrass done well is a treat...and they mostly delivered w/ an out of left field song choice.

Oz the Mentalist: Seemed a little slow getting to his mental games, but then he definitely delivered.

Benton: If you are chosen/edited to go last, you are meant to go through. He pushed his voice to some unpleasant places though. Hopefully he takes that into account moving forward to RCMH.

The Golden Buzzer, Ventriloquist: He definitely has a bit of Dunham in him. Not sure I'd peg him as an overall winner just yet....but I could certainly see him making the finale...

If a WC show exists...I could see at least four other acts from this group getting a call back. Johnny, the MA girl, maybe the dance act that Mel B. really liked, and maybe even the Tap act for variety....

Edited July 29, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Commando Cody]

I never watch this show live, but I wanted to follow the app to see how America votes for some of these acts. 

 

Apparently they aren't front loading the golden buzzer with confetti anymore.  

 

I buzzed Triple Threat.  That was kind of fun.  America really liked them.  Nothing stood out for me. 

 

I don't remember any roller skaters from the past shows. 

 

The Animation Crew was pretty impressive. It just isn't something I would watch for more than 5 minutes.  I could see it as part of a variety show, but not for 90 minutes. 

 

AGT Fact: "15 cameras are used to film the AGT live shows"... 15 cameras and they haven't figured out how to direct any of them. 

 

America didn't agree, but I still like the hand balancer. I thought it was funny that he says "we" as in "We worked very hard".  I think his act is odd. Maybe a little plodding, but it is unique. 

 

America certainly loves Johnny Shelton.  He's not much of a singer. 

 

I liked the ventriloquist.  I was okay with him getting the golden buzzer. 

 

Really impressed with the mentalist guy.  

 

Howie with the disclaimer before he critiques Pretty Big.  I think the act was better the first time.  Were there more dancers in the group the first time around?

 

Wow.  A cover of a "I believe In A Thing Called Love".  I never thought I would hear it that way.  I'm not sure how they presented their dad with that suggestion, but I guess if Pat Boone can do it, they can as well.

 

The cross dresser was bad.  That last note was particularly off.

 

I'm not sure if the red headed woman was supposed to be a contortionist or a hand balancer.  She wasn't as interesting as the guy with the dummy.  I was kind of bored with her.  

 

I liked the guy who sang Jolene.  

 

Well. It isn't much of a surprise when they line the act, who advances, up with acts that we never got to see on the show tonight.

 

At least they picked the Jolene singer over the other guy.  Maybe they thought they couldn't get away with another pity pick.  

[UsernameGoesHere]

I haven't even seen the show yet but I'm so glad they cut Johnny Shelton :) :) :)

[backformore]

I haven't finished watching, But I'm annoyed at Howard harping on how the "Triple Threat"  guys are not good looking.  Yes, one of the guys is fat, and has a bad haircut.   Another is big, but pretty normal looking, and the third, the lead singer, is cute.  Why does Howard have to keep talking about how they're not good-looking?  and then he says if they can get girls, then "there's hope for the rest of us".  As though they are the ugliest guys who ever lived!     I think the judges would all know that they would be considered sexist and mean if they said similar things to women contestants.  And, I don't think Black Guys who might be heavy get as much grief about their looks. 

Even calling them "nerdy" -  based on what?  I thought they were college football players. 

Edited July 29, 2015 by backformore

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Placement was EVERYthing tonight.  I thought sure that they would put blue grass group against the two solo country guys.  I am very glad they did not.  But, never forget the contortions TPTB can and will go to in staging and placing acts.  Didja notice they didn't even put the two magic against each other?

 

I'm pleased we finally saw the Prince Poppycock act.  I was angry that it appeared to be an established act.  You don't get all those pieces of brass and play Great American Songbook music without serious cash behind you.  It's a shame Randy had a bad night, though.  

 

It's a bit of a shock how marginalized Nick is becoming in the edits.  Maybe a function of highlighting guest jidges?  HIs illness?  I'm fine with it.  I'm just saying it is very noticeable.

 

The jidges' backstage hijinks were weak this week.   

 

The mentalist was fabulous.  Ventriloquist dude was darn good, too.  I'd be fine if each made the Finals.  

 

Sorry, but I can't help but think Simon Cowell is just giving us all a giant F U by bringing back Piers.   Unprecedented fast forwarding will commence in my house next week.

[tominboston]

The contortionist is the sort of act that's interesting in an odd sort of way for about five minutes, but what else is there? I can't see how that sort of thing would support a whole show. I prefer to see the judges promote the magicians, ventriloquists, and comedians who can deliver something new each week.

 

The bluegrass band is really tight and fun to watch and I'm sure the singer's tears were genuine, and the male trio had great harmonies. While I see AGT as mainly a showcase for non-musical acts, I don't mind seeing either of them again. The lip-synching drag singer who got cut, on the other hand, had nothing to offer but a new dress each week and that's not worth a spot in the next round.

[SFoster21]

I have never figured out a magic trick before, but that mentalist's trick was easy to see.

[ketchuplover]

The singing (Randy) looked 'legit" to me.  

[KarateKate]

I haven't finished watching, But I'm annoyed at Howard harping on how the "Triple Threat"  guys are not good looking.  Yes, one of the guys is fat, and has a bad haircut.   Another is big, but pretty normal looking, and the third, the lead singer, is cute.  Why does Howard have to keep talking about how they're not good-looking?  and then he says if they can get girls, then "there's hope for the rest of us".  As though they are the ugliest guys who ever lived!     I think the judges would all know that they would be considered sexist and mean if they said similar things to women contestants.  And, I don't think Black Guys who might be heavy get as much grief about their looks. 

Even calling them "nerdy" -  based on what?  I thought they were college football players. 

YMMV, but I felt like Howard was doing it to help them...kinda. It's the call-in show judge equivalent of a guy negging a girl he's trying to pick up.

 

By saying "You're good, but I just don't think America can be image-blind enough to vote for non-model boy band. And you're nerds." America - who may have, unprovoked, found these guys to be good, but not great, or may have subconsciously overlooked them in a soft-prejudice says to themselves "Ho, ho hoooold on there Howard! These boys are not trolls! Sure they're not classic boyband, but... they're relateable! I feel I am a nerd (in the new definition of nerd that is not at all like in 'Revenge of the Nerds')! I like these guys. You know who is a judgy-mcjudgerson? YOU, Howard. You think I won't vote for them?? I'll show you. Redialers... assemble!"

 

Placement was EVERYthing tonight.  I thought sure that they would put blue grass group against the two solo country guys.  I am very glad they did not.  But, never forget the contortions TPTB can and will go to in staging and placing acts.  Didja notice they didn't even put the two magic against each other?[snip]

The placement at the end is not who they were up against for slots in the show, IMO. Like you said (and we could be singing two verses of the same song here) - "never forget the contortions TPTB can and will go to in staging and placing acts"

In each group of three it wasn't "and only one will go through", it was more "only 6 will go through - let's fill in the others around them as we announce".

[bluepiano]

It's a bit of a shock how marginalized Nick is becoming in the edits. 

 

Now that you mention it, there was hardly any Nick at all.

 

I'm not a fan of Marlon Wayans, and i don't think he added anything to the show. His little bits of shtick were not funny, and I don't think he had anything interesting to say while judging the acts.

 

I thought all three solo singers were really weak. Benton was marginally better than Johnny, but that's not saying much. "Jolene" is a clichéd song choice, and I'm not impressed by the growl thing. We hear that all the time.

 

Vita was a lock to go through, but I think that's more on her looks than her act, which I didn't find particularly interesting. At one point it looked like she was going to balance on one hand, but then she pulled out. Anyone else notice? I have serious doubts that she has more to show. But yeah, she is sexy.

 

The woman singer with the rock band sure looked pissed when she didn't get chosen, but they were nothing special. The bluegrass band gave a better performance, and their lead singer/fiddle player is really talented. I think she's going to have a career (probably without her family, who are all pretty mediocre). There is a market out there for traditional country music. (look at Allison Krauss).

 

I think that out of the 7 chosen, only the British ventriloquist and Oz the mentalist have a shot at going further. But I think it's going to be hard for Oz to come up with something different enough that he won't seem to be repeating himself.

Edited July 29, 2015 by bluepiano

[Panopticon]

Oz the Mentalist is good.

Triple Threat is charming in a generic way.

That's all I've got.

[SGfan]

I liked the mentalist, the ventriloquist, and Benton.  I liked the song choice, Jolene.  Also, Benton's son was freaking adorable!

[wks9370]

I thought Animation Crew were impressive. I see them becoming an opening act in Vegas, immediately after losing in the finals.. The BlueGrass "Mountain Faith Band", just may pull it off. The contortionists was captivating - for 3 mins - at least to the guys. Howard. Mel B wasn't feeling it. The mentalists is an unique act for this type of show, I liked him. An if anybody recalls, I believe the winner of season 1 - a ventriloquist act - went on to have a very profitable headliner act in Vegas for years.. sorry, I can't remember his name.

I think placement was critical in some selections, and selection was not done by the most popular acts overall - but in the specific categories they placed them in.. imo.

Hello...

Edited July 30, 2015 by wks9370

[Zuleikha]

Vita was a lock to go through, but I think that's more on her looks than her act, which I didn't find particularly interesting. At one point it looked like she was going to balance on one hand, but then she pulled out. Anyone else notice? I have serious doubts that she has more to show.

 

She didn't pull out. She was doing a one-handed spin, that's why she pulled her arm band over her hand. She never intended to hold it as a pose. She may not have gotten as fast of a spin as she hoped for, but it all seemed timed with the music.

 

Contortion can be done as a series of wow, tricks or as essentially a specialized form of dance. With all the choppy editing, I wasn't quite sure how she was doing it on the show, but after looking her up on YouTube, she does it as a form of dance. So I think she has much additional to show as any dancer does. I wish the show wouldn't cutaway from the acts so much... it does a disservice to them.

[bluepiano]

Agree about the editing. Too many reaction shots of the judges. For the dancers and acrobats in particular, to appreciate their performance you need to see their moves in context. The cuts to the judges are unnecessary distractions.

 

But the idea is that the judges are the stars of the show, and that the TV audience wants to see how they're responding. And maybe they need to give the judges as much screen time as possible, to justify the ridiculous salaries they're paid.

Edited July 30, 2015 by bluepiano

[needschocolate]

As I watched, I kept thinking, "The ex-con magician from last week is better than this act."

 

I think that there may be something wrong with the sound on my TV, because most singers don't sound as good to me as the judges say they are and my opinions seem to be the opposite of most people here.  I felt the Columbian singer from last week and Triple Threat this week were average. On the other hand, I thought Johnny sounded pretty good, although his singing is too "twangy" for my tastes. Maybe I am tone deaf.  

 

The contortionist is the sort of act that's interesting in an odd sort of way for about five minutes, but what else is there? I can't see how that sort of thing would support a whole show..

 

I think about this every time they have a solo contemporary dancer.  No matter how well they dance, I can't see people wating in line in Vegas to see one person dance by themselves.   They certainly couldn't entertain a crowd solo dancing for 90 minutes, and I think most audience members would see a 5 minute act solo contemporary dance act as the perfect opportunity to use the restroom or buy a drink.

 

It is not that contemporary dance can't be impressive, just that a Vegas show seem the entirely wrong venue for it.

 

I have never figured out a magic trick before, but that mentalist's trick was easy to see.

 

Please let me know what you saw (use spoiler tags), because I was very impressed and am no where near being able to figure it out.  Heck, I was impressed that he was able to make that picture of Oprah with a pair a scissors.

[Indy]

Heck, I was impressed that he was able to make that picture of Oprah with a pair a scissors.

 

SERIOUSLY! I'd watch him just make random paper snowflake cutouts of celebrities. Forget the mentalist schtick, the scissor art alone was impressive. It was like that CMYK painter guy from a few seasons back that threw paint on a canvas randomly until suddenly it was Mic Jagger.  

[SFoster21]

As I watched, I kept thinking, "The ex-con magician from last week is better than this act."

I think that there may be something wrong with the sound on my TV, because most singers don't sound as good to me as the judges say they are and my opinions seem to be the opposite of most people here. I felt the Columbian singer from last week and Triple Threat this week were average. On the other hand, I thought Johnny sounded pretty good, although his singing is too "twangy" for my tastes. Maybe I am tone deaf.

I think about this every time they have a solo contemporary dancer. No matter how well they dance, I can't see people wating in line in Vegas to see one person dance by themselves. They certainly couldn't entertain a crowd solo dancing for 90 minutes, and I think most audience members would see a 5 minute act solo contemporary dance act as the perfect opportunity to use the restroom or buy a drink.

It is not that contemporary dance can't be impressive, just that a Vegas show seem the entirely wrong venue for it.

Please let me know what you saw (use spoiler tags), because I was very impressed and am no where near being able to figure it out. Heck, I was impressed that he was able to make that picture of Oprah with a pair a scissors.

I agree. The scissor art was great! I will IM you. On phone. Some stuff hard.

[UsernameGoesHere]

The Triple Threat guys are adorable in my opinion. The lead singer is super cute! I like them.

 

Why were there so many dance crews this week?!

 

I don't even care... I love the mannequin guy and I'm bummed that he didn't make it through.

 

I LOLed for real at the end of the ventriloquist's act. Great finish. Good for him getting the golden buzzer.

 

The guy with the giant hula hoop made me laugh. I so want to try that. I wonder what he did in his first audition.

 

And because I can't say it enough... I'm SO happy Johnny Shelton and his sob story got cut. Hallelujah! I figured he was a shoo-in for the live rounds.

 

So I'm guessing that like in previous years, they cut a bunch of acts off-camera before this round. Because A) What are the odds that they put through exactly 80 acts and B) What happened to all the danger acts they put through? The motocross dudes? The horse kids? Skydiving guy? Fireworks guy? Watermelon man? Egg drinking guy? Grandma who blew herself up in a limo? That teenage boy who did the tricks in the water on that weird apparatus? The thumbtack guy? Sooo many people who disappeared. Unless they're all featured next week, which... doubtful.

[Indy]

This week I loved the ventriloquist.  He's in my top three at the moment.  He's both a great ventriloquist and comedian.  I really enjoy his act.  

 

So I'm guessing that like in previous years, they cut a bunch of acts off-camera before this round. Because A) What are the odds that they put through exactly 80 acts and B) What happened to all the danger acts they put through? The motocross dudes? The horse kids? Skydiving guy? Fireworks guy? Watermelon man? Egg drinking guy? Grandma who blew herself up in a limo? That teenage boy who did the tricks in the water on that weird apparatus? The thumbtack guy? Sooo many people who disappeared. Unless they're all featured next week, which... doubtful.

 

 

That's what I'm guessing too.  When they used to have the "Vegas Week" type round where the contestants performed just in front of the judges, in groups based on their category, they always sent a huge chunk of the acts packing the second they got to Las Vegas. My assumption is that they had some sort of cuts like that but we just didn't see it this year.  We saw them send a lot more than 80 acts through. Some of the danger acts were probably deemed impractical to put on for multiple rounds too.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Indy

[PhD-Purgatory15]

UsernameGoesHere and Indy, I'm glad we're on the same wavelength with the missing acts...

 

It just seemed so odd that AGT would focus super heavily on outside the studio danger/extreme auditions and then not show hardly any of those same acts this round. AGT gave them an entire week during the audition rounds and so far only Dr. Danger's All-Stars have been heard from since. I was particularly interested in seeing the Flyboarder again, and to a lesser extent the trick riding horse kids so it'll be a bit of a bummer if they aren't in this last batch of twenty. There was also one other non-extreme act that got the dreaded montage "3 or 4 yeses" that I'd like to see again. They were a collective called Rhythmic Circus and involved basically a band with tap dancers incorporated into the act....I'll have my fingers crossed that they'll at least get a shot to perform one more time.

Edited August 1, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[UsernameGoesHere]

I'm just always afraid that acts I actually like will disappear. Hopefully Duo Vladimir and Showproject will be on next week.

 

And I can't believe I forgot to mention this, but I'm a huge contortion fan and have been familiar with Vita for several years. She's really good - a lot better than what we saw this week - and she's incredibly strong. She does hula hoop too.

[helenamonster]

Whew, finally catching up on this show.

 

Animation Dance Crew were fantastic, I thought, and I wasn't particularly impressed with their audition. Here's hoping they continue to get even better.

 

I'm going to hell, but BUH-BYE, Johnny Shelton. A child dying of cancer is horrible but it doesn't give their parent a free sympathy pass for the rest of their lives.

 

The ventriloquist was amazing. He so deserved the golden buzzer and I think he could easily make it to the finals. I loved the mentalist as well.

 

I remember really enjoying Pretty Big during their audition, but they did nothing for me this round. I feel like there were more of them the first time?

 

I found it weird when Benton's wife was going on about wanting him to be able to provide for their family...while showing them living in what seemed to me to be a pretty nice house. Meh, he's alright. I rarely like singers and I'm not exactly pulling for him. His kid is adorable though.